This question has been asked several times. And I’m not sure someone has answered it completely. The thing is that it is very difficult to decide their future. People is socializing more and more online. Leaving physical contact with people forgotten. What is happening to us? And who knows, maybe socializing face to face will be too old fashioned in the next ten years. I don’t think online social networks are driving us through a good path. As this market becomes more and more mature companies such as Google, Yahoo and Facebook find better ways to make us adict to their products/services. And therefore making more and more money. I don’t see anything good in that.
Online social networks are useful indeed. But as I said, they are also adictive. The host becomes owner of your inforamtion and data. They know your friends, what you like and what you dislike. Virtually everything of your online life. And although I don’t think they will use this to kidnap you, they will use this information to spam you, to sell you stuff and to make you spend money where they want you to spend money it. To control in few words. And they have the right to do it, you gave them that right when you clicked “I accept terms and conditions” do you remember? That box full of stupid text you did not read. Well there, you sold your soul to facebook. Maybe not your soul, but plenty of information that facebook (or any other social network) will use to sell you stuff.
Don’t believe me, check Facebook Terms of Use:
All content on the Site and available through the Service, including designs, text, graphics, pictures, video, information, applications, software, music, sound and other files, and their selection and arrangement (the “Site Content”), are the proprietary property of the Company, its users or its licensors with all rights reserved.
Still not sure? Look at this:
By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing.
Well as you see everything you have done in facebook is owned by facebook in all ways, but still if they have any legal problems for that content they will blame you. Check this:
You are solely responsible for the photos, profiles (including your name, image, and likeness), messages, notes, text, information, music, video, advertisements, listings, and other content that you upload, publish or display
They know people will not read the terms of use. That is why they can do this. That is the problem with almost all online social networks. They really don’t care about you, they just want your money.
I know what you are thinking: “Online social networks are useful, even with the ads and everything” Well, they are useful indeed, but they own all your content, and they use it to sell you stuff. That is my point. I think the price you pay for using them is way too high. You can use them, but in a smart way. But this is no fun anyways. What is the use if you have to be checking everytime you do something in order to be sure you are not giving relevant information for them?
Of course as always, it is up to you if you want to pay the price, if you do good luck, I recommend adblocker and a good spam filter. But if you decide to stay away you will be making a huge step first for yourself. But secondly and probably most important, your information will not be with them, and that hurts them too, they don’t will not have any power over you and will have less power over your friends, if you convince them too, less and less. The same way your friends started joining thay will start going out. This is a domino effect. So next they talk to you about this ultimate marvelous network think twice before giving seling your personal information.
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